The Cool Blog List for DIY Green – No Meat Athlete and Crunchy Betty

So, for all of the random things that clog up the internet, every now and then it’s a great source for something useful. Recently, I was tipped off to two blogs by awesome friends that I wanted to share with all of you, since I’m super excited about what I’ve seen. The theme here actually seems to be the DIY eco-friendly path. While I’ve often blogged about green products, sometimes, the best solution is to make whatever it is at home.

Whatever that home may be like…

Most of all, though, I’m always excited to pick up tips, ideas, and recipes that benefit both the environment and our own health – isn’t that the point? And on that level, both these blogs fit the bill.

Enter first the wonderful world of No Meat Athlete. As an eco-conscious athlete (of sorts – for those of you who don’t know me, I run absurdly long distances for the no apparent reason), I got really excited about this one. We all know by now that eating less (or no) meat is generally good for the planet (if you still don’t know that, check out a brief explanation here or here). No Meat Athlete is chock-full of super health, nutrition, and workout information for athletes of all flavors. Even if you’re not vegetarian, what I love most about this blog are the recipes for smoothies, energy drinks, smoothies, energy bars, and workout gels you can make at home. While I also often get sucked in by the enormous market for sports products, a lot of the drinks, gels and bars you get in stores are high in sugars, dyes, chemicals, and additives. By making your own, you can save money, while picking ingredients tailored to your own workout, dietary needs, blah blah blah. (As a side note, if you’re not worried about the sugars in energy drinks and bars, you might have reason to be – Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise at alarming rates, even in people who are otherwise fit and healthy. Scary stuff.) Making your snacks at home also cuts down on lots of waste from boxes, wrappers, plastic bottles, and all that kind of stuff. You get the point. If you’re curious, a good place to start is the Newcomer’s Guide.

Then, sticking with the DIY theme of the day – a friend recommended a few months ago that I check out Crunchy Betty. This one is a resource for girls (and guys) who are looking to cut back – or even completely eliminate – the mainstream cosmetics, skin care products, shampoo, conditioner, soaps, and household cleaning products from their lives. And no, she doesn’t recommend that you do this by living in a yurt and giving up your daily shower. Instead, Betty takes you through step-by-step instructions of how to make your own…everything. Seriously. Soap? Check. Shampoo? Check. Homemade facial moisturizer? Check. While some of her ingredients are a tad obscure (although I haven’t found many yet that can’t be obtained online or at a health food or specialty grocery store), even those of you who are shy about moving away from chemical household and beauty products will have to admit that her repertoire is impressive. Many of the benefits that I mentioned above hold for this too – you can save money, use only the ingredients that you like, and cut down on your consumption of plastics and packaging.